E-Paper
Sunanda could not have killed herself, no question of abetment: Tharoor to court
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for Tharoor, while arguing on the framing of charges in the death of Pushkar in 2014 at a hotel in the city, told special judge Geetanjali Goel that no case of abetment to suicide is made out against his client as she could not have died by suicide.
Congress member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor on Friday told a Delhi court that the family, friends and son of his late wife Sunanda Pushkar have maintained that she was a strong woman and could not have died by suicide.
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for Tharoor, while arguing on the framing of charges in the death of Pushkar in 2014 at a hotel in the city, told special judge Geetanjali Goel that no case of abetment to suicide is made out against his client as she could not have died by suicide.
“Her relatives and son say she was a strong woman and couldn’t have died by suicide. How can there be a question of abetment when she didn’t die by suicide,” Pahwa said adding that the police investigation has conclusively established by way of opinion from renowned doctors that she had not died by suicide.
He also cited several judgments and sought the discharge of Tharoor from the case. The court put up the matter for further hearing to April 9.
Pushkar was found dead in the suite of a luxury hotel in the city on the night of January 17, 2014, following which the police had charged Tharoor with abetment to suicide, among other charges.
Tharoor has consistently denied all charges, calling them “preposterous and motivated”.
On May 14, 2018, Tharoor had tweeted: “ I have taken note of the filing of this preposterous charge sheet & intend to contest it vigorously. No one who knew Sunanda believes she would ever have committed suicide, let alone abetment on my part...If this is conclusion arrived at after 4+ yrs of investigation it does not speak well of the methods or motivations of the Delhi Police.”
On March 17, during arguments, Pahwa had told the court that doctors have not been able to ascertain the cause of death or establish whether Pushkar had indeed died by suicide and, hence, the case of abetment to suicide against Tharoor was nothing but “a figment of imagination of the police”.
He had earlier said the post-mortem examination and other medical reports have allegedly established that it was neither a suicide nor homicide. He had also said during the course of the investigation, there have been a plethora of reports by experts before the investigating officer (IO) but there was “no definite opinion on the cause of death”.
